Watch the recording of the lecture by Duncan McFarlane, Professor at the University of Cambringe on "Developing Low-Cost Digital Solutions for Industrial SMEs". The lecture took place on 10 December 2024 at our institute.
Abstract:
The main driver for industrial digital systems developments over the last 30 years has been improved functionality rather than cost. Given the large number of outstanding challenges this has been a logical direction to take and in the last 10 years Industry 4.0 has provided a framework for bringing many of these developments to fruition. But a limited focus on cost has meant that many industrial companies - especially small ones - do not have sufficient budget to add digital solutions to their operations. The field of low-cost industrial digitalisation which has emerged over the last ten years in which cost is given a higher priority than functionality. This talk will discuss the meaning, scope and applicability of low-cost digital solutions and argues that a systematic approach to their specification, design and deployment can be effective in increasing the confidence of industrial organisations in applying them. The so called Digital Shoestring approach developed at Cambridge will be introduced as an example and case studies from manufacturing and logistics will provide examples of the way in which such an approach can applied.
Biography:
Duncan McFarlane is Professor of Industrial Information Engineering at the Cambridge University Engineering Department, fellow of St John’s College and head of the Distributed Information & Automation Laboratory within the Institute for Manufacturing. His work involves the development of manufacturing automation and control systems and more broadly the use of digital systems across the industrial supply chain. His current research work is mainly focused on distributed, intelligent industrial automation, low-cost approaches to digital industrial solutions, resilient and reconfigurable systems in manufacturing and logistics. Previous work has also examined issues relating to RFID integration, track and trace systems, valuing industrial information, and information solutions supporting industrial services. Professor McFarlane is also Co-Founder of RedBite Solutions Ltd (2006) and was Chairman (2006-2024). Redbite is an industrial RFID and track & trace solutions company. From March to July 2020 he led a team which won the RAE Presidents Award for providing Industrial Engineering support to local hospitals managing the Covid-19 Epidemic and from September 2020 to July 2021 was Operations Logistics lead at Cambridge University for its Asymptomatic Covid-19 Student Testing Programme.
Recently, Prof McFarlane founded and led the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring programme between 2018-2022 which investigated how low-cost, readily available digital technologies can be implemented to support productivity and sustainability in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. The project addressed the common concern that many commercial digital manufacturing solutions are designed for large companies he Shoestring approach is now being further developed across a range of research projects. He has also headed the Shoestring Business Unit at the IFM (2022-24) whose objective is to roll out Shoestring industrially through deployment programmes in different regions in the UK and internationally.
The lecture was supported by RICAIP Testbed Prague and the National Centre for Industry 4.0.